


Thirteen

by static_abyss



Category: Spartacus Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Horror, F/F, F/M, Haunted Houses, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-30 07:30:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1015827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/static_abyss/pseuds/static_abyss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's supposed to start off like all the stupid horror movies do, with a house in the middle of nowhere and a bunch of drunk college kids. But then Gannicus drinks all the booze, and most of them are too annoyed to be scared. Then, of course, they split up and it all goes to shit because the house is actually haunted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is both the Castus/Agron/Nasir I promised to write as well as a fill for the Horror/Halloween prompt at the spartacusfanchallenges tumblr. Un-beta'd but I tried to catch all the typos.

"I just want to point out that I said this was a bad idea before we even came in here," Chadara says.

She is standing by the mansion doorway, peeking at the high-ceilinged entrance over Mira's shoulder. She gets Mira's dark hair into her mouth, but doesn't bother to spit it out because someone slams the mansion door shut behind her.

"Fuck," Chadara says, a few other voices in front of her echoing the sentiment. 

"What the fuck, Gannicus?" Saxa calls out in the dark. "How the fuck are we supposed to see now?"

Gannicus laughs and Chadara can hear him rustling through his messenger bag. Mira is already digging through the mess in her backpack, and Chadara makes sure to shift closer. She loops her arm through Mira's, and tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. 

The country mansion is supposed to be empty, gated outside, and with warning signs telling visitors that it isn't safe to go in. Chadara fucking _told_ everyone that she didn't want to die when the roof caved in on them, but these are Mira and Nasir's friends, and Chadara is still relatively new to the group. She didn't want to ruin everyone's night, and Mira had taken her hand and told her it would be fine.

And then Spartacus had said that they probably shouldn't, and Chadara was relieved for the minute it took Gannicus, Barca, and Saxa to vote his opinion null. That's how they had ended up by the fence on the right side of the property. The three cars they took to get here are parked by the stretch of trees across the road, so that even if they manage to get away from the serial killers probably living inside the mansion, the cars are too far away to be useful. 

Agron and Duro had brought the pliers from the car to break the wired fence. Not that it mattered to Saxa, who'd just climbed the thing and made fun of them until they got through. Chadara hadn't cared. She wasn't going to ruin her new jeans.

"Here," Mira whispers, bringing Chadara out of her thoughts. 

Chadara reaches out into the dark and takes the flashlight Mira is holding. 

"You guys are fucking insane," Chadara whispers back, fingers running up the flashlight to find the on switch. "Who planned this?"

She finds the button on the bottom of the flashlight and flicks it on, the light landing on Pietro's face.

"Ow, turn it off," he says, hands going up in front of his face.

Chadara rolls her eyes and points the flashlight away even as Pietros turns to bury his face in Barca's chest.

"Baby," she says, shinning the light in front of her, up to the bottom steps of the grand staircase.

Gannicus turns on a flashlight behind her, and Chadara turns, her light falling on the closed door. "You didn't lock that, did you?"

Gannicus shrugs. "Can you lock old doors?"

"You can if the hinges are fucked up," Duro says from Chadara's left.

She'd forgotten Duro was with them too. He's quieter than Agron is, and not as prone to start arguments over little things. Chadara likes Duro, and Pietros, probably a little more than she likes Nasir right now. But Nasir has his boyfriends to take care of and college classes to study for. Chadara is majoring in English, aces all of her English classes, and can do five paged essays in her sleep. She has a lot of time left over that Nasir doesn't, though she does spend most of her time over at Mira's apartment.

"I swear, if that shit is locked, I am going to punch you in the face, Gannicus," Saxa says, striding into view by the light of Gannicus's flashlight.

Chadara watches Saxa's blonde hair bouncing behind her as she walks over to the door. A long time ago, Chadara had a thing for Saxa. It was the wildness in Saxa's eyes, her indifferent attitude towards things other people considered important. Also the sex. Sex with Saxa had always been good, fucking raw passion in everything she did, the way her hands used to find all of the right places on Chadara's body.

They're friends now, and the occasional lingering touches don't make Chadara want to jump out of her skin anymore. But the thing with Mira isn't even really a thing yet, and sometimes Chadara will find herself watching Saxa and wanting that again. Even though Saxa isn't into relationships, and Chadara is. She's not sure she even registers in Mira's radar, whether Chadara is an option for Mira, or whether Mira knows how Chadara watches her and just doesn't want to do anything about it.

The sadness comes at weird moments, especially when Mira is warm next to Chadara, smelling faintly of flowery perfume. Saxa is glancing over her shoulder at Chadara, communicating with a look, the way only people who've been intimate with each other can. It's gone a few moments later when Saxa turns to pull at the door.

"You motherfucker," she snarls, grunting with the force of pulling the door open. "Help me, assholes."

Duro and Gannicus move to help her, and Chadara tries to push the panic down when the door doesn't budge. She is going to _murder_ the person who decided this was a good idea.

"This shit is the worst Halloween idea ever," Duro sighs, shaking his head.

"This was your idea," Nasir says, and it sounds like he's moving away, but his voice echoes in the large entryway. Chadara shivers, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. 

"So," Gannicus starts, turning to shine his flashlight in Mira's face, then around the room to the others. "The door's closed and we can't get it open."

"You absolute moron," Saxa says, making for Gannicus just as everyone starts talking at once.

"You must be fucking kidding me."

"This is the shittiest Halloween ever."

"I fucking told you we should have stayed home, Castus."

"Haunted houses are fun, they said. We won't die, they said."

"I am going to kill you all," Chadara informs the room when everyone settles down.

"There are too many of you," Duro complains. "We won't even be able to tell if one of us dies in here."

"Where's Crixus?" Barca asks.

"With Spartacus and Naevia," Crixus answers, up front and to the right from Chadara. "Wondering about how stupid you all are."

"Fuck you," Argon says, automatically. "We're not stupid."

"Gannicus locked us in an old mansion," Mira says. 

No one has an answer to that, and Chadara is glad that at least everyone is on the same page now. "Please tell me you have more flashlights," she begs. 

Her eyes are done adjusting to the dark and she can make out the forms of the rest of the group. Barca and Pietros are leaning against each other by the left of the old staircase. Spartacus, Naevia, Crixus, and Saxa are all to the right of Chadara, huddled in a group and probably glaring at Gannicus. Gannicus is still by the door, his face in the shadows behind the light from his flashlight.

"Where's Nasir?" Chadara asks, leaning closer to Mira, who hasn't left her side since they got out of the cars.

"Here," Nasir calls, from further in front of Chadara.

She points her light up the staircases to where Nasir is sitting between Castus and Agron. Castus widens his eyes at Chadara when she shines the flashlight at him, and Chadara blows him a kiss. She likes Castus, because he picked up right away on how out of the group she felt when she first met them all. They all had their history together, their years in high school and their three years in college. But Chadara was just Nasir's old friend from middle school when she met them, and Castus knew all about feeling left out. He'd petted her hair when she cried into her coffee about feeling alone, and the best part was, he never told.

"It's just between us," he'd told her, and Chadara loves him too. Maybe him most of all because he gets it. And she's fiercely glad that Agron and Nasir love him as much as they love each other because Castus deserves that.

"Why?" Pietros asks when he sees where Nasir, Agron, and Castus are sitting.

Nasir shrugs. "We were tired."

"Yeah, and you guys weren't hurrying up," Agron says. 

"Besides, it's nice here," Castus says, stretching out and leaning against Nasir.

Nasir rolls his eyes, but tugs on Castus's hand so that he's lying across Nasir's lap. Agron throws an arm around Nasir's waist to flick at Castus's wrist. 

"You three are the grossest, most disgusting human beings I have ever met," Chadara tells them. "Stop that."

Castus grins at her and Agron's dimpling in her direction, so Chadara just shakes her head and points her flashlight somewhere else. The beam of light shows a door to the left that leads into what looks like a living room. There's a fire place at the far end directly across from the door and a boarded up window on either side when Chadara moves her light. 

"We need to find a way out," Naevia says. 

Her voice is soothing even though it echoes around them. She and Kore, another friend, have a way of making those around them feel calm. Though with Naevia, it's rarer to hear her sound so soft. Kore is delicate in the way she speaks and the way she interacts with others. With Naevia, it's more controlled, as though she's learned to be nice in small doses. Chadara doesn't know what happened to Naevia, but she does understand that whatever it was, it's none of Chadara's business. It's not her place to ask.

"The windows are boarded up, though," Mira says. 

"And Gannicus locked the fucking front door," Saxa calls out.

"Not to mention we can't see shit," Nasir says. "And we only have two flashlights."

Chadara shakes her head. "How are there only two flashlights?" 

No one says anything, and Chadara swears these people were smarter when she met them. About half of them are in school on a scholarship of some sort, and the rest of them have GPAs high enough to compete with Chadara's. She did not bring any flashlights because no one told her they were going to celebrate halloween by getting stuck in an old mansion until they were halfway here, but Chadara's sure the rest of them don't have that excuse.

"No one told me we were coming here or I would have stayed home," Crixus informs them. "Also, fuck you, Barca."

"I didn't say we _weren't_ going to do something stupid," Barca says. "And anyway, why is everyone complaining? Lets just go find another exit."

"Please," Pietros says. 

"We can't," Saxa tells them. "I sat through two hours of stupid jokes and dumb innuendos from Duro and Agron. I am not leaving here until I've given a serial killer a chance to try and kill me."

"You are insane," Chadara says.

"I love you too, baby," Saxa calls back.

Mira's hand tightens on Chadara's arm.

"What?" Chadara asks.

"It's too dark to see," Mira says. "We're going to end up breaking something."

"They're remodelling this place soon, right?" Naevia asks.

"That's what the posters said," Duro answers.

"Then there should be electricity."

"Why would there be electricity?" Chadara asks.

"Because," Spartacus answers. "They need lights for the workers who are going to start work here. The company remodelling the place would probably want to have the lights running before work starts."

There's silence for a moment, and Chadara starts to hope again. She loves Mira for giving her the flashlight, but she'd rather see where she is going when all this inevitably goes to shit. If they don't find murderers in the house, they're going to find rabid animals, and Chadara wants to be able to run away properly.

Gannicus is the first one to break the silence. "Spartacus speaks," he gasps. 

"Shut up," Crixus snaps, just as the others start laughing.

"Isn't this house supposed to be really old, though?" Pietros asks.

Chadara is starting to think that she's not the only one freaking out over being stuck in the old house. Everyone is clustered into their groups, not moving even though there's the potential for light if they can find a switch. She leans in closer to Mira, who wraps a hand around Chadara's wrist and pulls her along.

"Electricity's been around for a long time. There should be light," Mira says, her voice steady even though Chadara can feel Mira's racing pulse underneath her fingers. "We just need to find a switch."

There's shuffling around the room as the rest of them start making for the walls. Chadara can hear Agron complaining as he gets off the stairs, followed by Castus's laughter. The noises are deafening with the natural echoes in the house. Chadara ignores them, turns away, sticks out her hands until she finds a wall, and concentrates on that. 

"Got it," Pietros shouts from the other end of the room.

Chadara isn't the only one who makes a startled noise, and there's a roar of laughter from everyone in the room after. A second later, the lights flicker on from a row of lanterns lining the outer edges of the entryway. 

"It's better than nothing," Pietros says, grabbing one of the lanterns and unplugging it from the wall. It stays on.

"At least we'll be able to see," Duro nods.

Chadara watches as Duro moves over to stand next to Pietros, heads bent together as they look for the switch on the lantern. Mira is still holding onto her wrist, and Chadara steps closer. She wants to speak up and suggest they leave, because logically, they should have done that even before coming into the house. It's not that Chadara thinks the place is actually haunted, but its old and in the process of being remodeled. They don't know what kind of animals could have gotten in, or if the stairs are safe enough to climb. 

"Can we go?" Mira asks, and Chadara is glad she herself didn't have to.

"No," Saxa answers. "We came to explore so we're going to explore."

They take a vote and Chadara really should have expected the outcome. 

"Why?" she asks Spartacus.

He shrugs and smiles. "It sounds like fun."

Chadara really should have expected that too.

"Obviously we have to split up," Gannicus says, when the voting is over.

"No, we don't," Chadara tells them.

They try to vote again, but Chadara just glares at them all. "I hate you all. Lets just do this," she says.

Crixus, Naevia, Spartacus, Barca and Pietros form a group automatically, and Chadara rolls her eyes because she already knows how everyone else is going to divide up.

"I hope everyone knows how stupid this is," Duro says, as he edges towards Agron. "Everyone knows that when you split up in horror movies, you die."

"I'm going with Castus," Chadara says, striding over and taking Castus's hand. 

"Why him?" Agron asks, though by now Chadara knows it's more out of habit than annoyance.

"Because I'm better looking," Castus answers, winking at Agron.

Agron rolls his eyes, but doesn't deny it. 

"I don't know," Pietros says, coming over to lean over Chadara's shoulder. "I can see why Nasir keeps both of them."

"How do you know we don't keep Nasir?" Agron asks, frowning at Pietros.

Barca glares back and Pietros ducks his head to hide his smile. From behind Chadara, Duro represses a laugh.

"Oh god, you're the stereotypical blond in the movies," Chadara tells him, reaching over to pat Agron on the arm.

Agron narrows his eyes at her, but Chadara just smiles and tugs Mira over. "Mira's the girl who survives at the end of the movie so we want her with us," she says.

"Fuck yeah," Mira says.

It's hard for Chadara to be scared now that there are enough lights for her to see by. The excitement in the group is contagious too, and it doesn't seem like a bad idea to go exploring. The possibility of there being someone in the house is small, seeing as how they've been making so much noise since they go in and no one's come out yet. The rabid animals also seem less likely now that Chadara thinks about it, and though there's a part of her that still thinks they should leave, it's much easier to just go along with this.

"So how are we doing this?" Saxa asks.

Chadara turns to look at her and realizes that Gannicus and Saxa are standing off on their own. They make eye contact but Saxa just shakes her head and grins.

"I'm going upstairs," Saxa says, snatching Gannicus's flashlight out of his hands and running for the stairs. "Goodbye, losers."

"She is fucking insane," Duro calls out after Saxa.

"Meet back here in an hour," Spartacus yells.

"Fine," comes the response.

Spartacus turns to look at Gannicus, who rolls his eyes. "Fine," he says. "I'll go with her. But this is why we should have brought Melitta and Oenomaus."

"Who are Oenomaus and Melitta?" Chadara asks.

Mira's hold on Chadara's wrist tightens a bit, just a warning. No one else says anything.

"They're just some friends, Gannicus says. "But Oenomaus doesn't like driving," he pauses, eyes far away for a second. "Melitta doesn't either."

"That's right," Mira says, her voice oddly gentle. 

"Right," Gannicus says, nodding in the direction Saxa left. "I'll see you in an hour."

No one says anything, and no one will meet Chadara's eyes. 

"We shouldn't let him go alone," Naevia says, sometime after. 

"He'll be fine," Spartacus says. "He prefers being alone."

"It's still not a good idea," Naevia insists.

"What?" Chadara starts. She stops at the look on Mira's face.

"We'll go with them," Nasir says, lacing his fingers with Agron.

Castus is already halfway up the steps with one of the lanterns. Chadara's fingers are going numb from the grip she has on her flashlight, but she tells herself that whatever is going on, there's a reason she doesn't know. She lets Mira pull her up the steps, the light from Chadara's flashlight lost in the glow of the lanterns Castus and Duro are carrying.

"Murdered," Duro says, as they set off. "We're all going to end up murdered."


	2. Saxa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is monsters a warning? There are creatures that are not human in this chapter.

Saxa can feel Chadara's eyes on her even as the thirteen of them divide into natural groups. She and Gannicus are the only two without a group, and it's fitting. Gannicus is insane and an asshole, and Saxa is just an asshole. She doesn't mean to be, and she thinks she wasn't to Chadara. They had their fun together, might have even been more if Saxa hadn't wanted out.

She's not good with relationships and it hadn't seemed fair to let Chadara believe Saxa would ever want a relationship. They ended well, are still friends. But it makes things like right now harder for Saxa. She can feel the concern radiating off Chadara, can almost hear her asking Saxa to go with her group. 

Saxa looks up and catches Chadara's hazel eyes. Chadara raises an eyebrow, but Saxa turns away.

"I'm going upstairs," Saxa says to the rest of the group. 

She reaches out and snatches the flashlight out of Gannicus's hands. He deserves it for locking them in, and also because it's just normal for her to do that. 

Gannicus needs all the normal they can give him.

"Goodbye, losers," she tells the group, taking the stairway two steps at a time. 

The old wooden stairs creak under her boots, a sort of moan that echoes in the empty house. She thinks she hears someone call something after her, but Saxa doesn't bother answering. She goes up two flights of stairs and comes out onto the second floor. The beam of her flashlight extends far enough that she can make out a door directly in front of the stairs. To her right, the hallway splits into two hallways, and to the left is a sitting room.

Saxa can't hear the others, and it's better this way. She likes being alone, likes it better when Mira isn't trying to ask questions. It almost makes Saxa sorry she ever slept with Chadara, because Mira can't let it go. She's taken it personally even though Saxa had never meant to imply that she liked Chadara better. Saxa just didn't want to date Mira because Mira was her roommate their first year of college. 

Mira knows Saxa in ways that few other people do, and it's scary as fuck to think that Mira could know all of Saxa. So it's better like this. It's better when Saxa just sleeps with people, because she can leave them in the morning and they don't ask questions. It was better to go out with Chadara, because Chadara has beautiful blonde hair and makes the best noises in bed. But that's over now too, and if Saxa had known how much Mira was going to like Chadara, Saxa would have never even gone near her. 

Mira shouldn't worry though, because Saxa has Belesa, who's sarcastic and open, without commitment and willing to wait for Saxa to come back to bed with her. And maybe Saxa isn't made for relationships, not the traditional way, but she can see herself living with Belesa. And if the two of them need to be with other people on the side, that's fine. Saxa knows how rare it is to find someone who understands her, who encourages her to be the way she is, no strings attached, no regrets. She's not worried about what other people may think. She's not even worried about what Mira may think, but it's easier when there's no one to ask questions. Saxa is tired of having to explain herself. 

She takes her time moving away from the stairs and into the hallway. There are no helpful lanterns up here, and the floor creaks with every step she takes. Saxa isn't sure if the first floor didn't, or if she just didn't notice with all the noise. 

The door in front of her goes from floor to ceiling, twice as wide as the front door. There's a sort of whispering coming from the space between the door and the carpeted floor. It's quiet in the hallway, but Saxa has to move forward to hear the words. She thinks the voices sound like Mira and Chadara, but she can't be sure. It makes no sense in any case, because Saxa is the first one up here. 

She eases away from the door, the light of her flashlight insignificant in the darkness of the second floor. There's a window at the end of the hallway to her left, and the light of the moon shines in when the clouds move. It's a full moon, but Saxa doesn't remember the full moon from their drive up. She's also pretty sure that there were no clouds. The light helps though, and she doesn't think much of it seeing as how Duro and Agron wouldn't shut up the whole drive up.

The light coming in through the window is enough for Saxa to make out the paintings hanging on the walls. There's one of a little girl, with long blonde hair, holding the hand of woman in a pretty green dress. The woman is familiar, and Saxa doesn't think as she moves closer. There's a smile on the woman's face that doesn't reach her eyes, and the hand that's holding the little girl is white from how tight the grip is. Across the wall is another painting, this time of the little girl. 

Alone. 

The little girl is curled up by her bed, her eyes staring directly into Saxa's. Her hair is undone, her nose red, and even as Saxa stares there seem to be tears rolling down the girl's cheeks.

"You're mother left you," someone whispers. 

Saxa stops breathing for a moment, her heart beating rapidly against her chest. Her legs feel as though they're going to give out from under her. But she turns to look down the hall at where the voice came from.

"Open the door," the same voice says, from further down the hall. 

Saxa tenses, but doesn't jump. She turns her flashlight towards the voices and catches a flash of blonde hair as the wide door shuts closed. 

"Chadara, what the fuck?" Saxa says, not knowing whether to be angry or not. A part of her is telling her that there's no way Chadara could know, because only Mira ever knew about Saxa's mother, and Mira would never tell. The other, louder part is angry, because anger is something Saxa understands. It's better to be angry that her mother left than it is to be sad.

She moves away from the window, her beam of light trained ahead of her. She makes sure to keep the light away from the other hallways, though once she realizes what she's doing she wants to laugh. It'd be bitter though, because that's all Saxa ever learned to be.

The large door Chadara went through is partially open, and Saxa hears Chadara's voice this time. 

"Come in," Chadara says. 

"What's in there?" Saxa asks, moving towards the door.

She can't hear the others, though she knows Chadara would never come after her alone. Mira wouldn't let Chadara be alone.

"Just come," Chadara whispers.

The sound carries so that Saxa can almost feel it like a caress against her ear. She shivers, and she'd thought she was over what Chadara could do to her when they were alone in a room together. It distracts her from the anger, dulls her thoughts so that she's focused on the sound of Chadara's voice.

"Come in," Chadara says again.

Saxa goes, her heart thumping away in her chest. She's tense again, her grip on the flashlight hard enough that she can feel the tips of her fingers go cold. There's something moving out of the corner of her eyes, but Saxa doesn't look too close. She tells herself it's the shadow of the trees, or one of the others coming upstairs. 

The floor creaks beneath her boots as she edges her way past the open door to peer inside. It's too dark for her to see anything even though the windows don't have curtains. She shines her flashlight inside, hears a soft moan behind her, like the wind going through a tunnel. Saxa breathes in through her nose, tells herself it's nothing and takes a step inside.

She comes out into the second floor hallway, the stairs directly in front of her. The door she went through is behind her, open. It's too dark behind her for Saxa to see anything, but her flashlight is pointed towards the stairs and she can't bring herself to move it yet. Her heart beats wildly against her chest even as she tries to come up with an explanation for why she went through a door and ended up outside of it.

There are footsteps coming down the hallway to Saxa's right, heavy creaks of the floorboards announcing the presence of someone. Saxa turns to the sitting room that's on her right now, her flashlight showing her it's empty. There are no windows there, and it's strange that a house this big should have such few windows.

The footsteps get closer, and Saxa can hear the soft rustling of clothing. She tells herself it's just one of the others, but she doesn't make a sound as she presses against the wall closest to the door she just came out of. The footsteps stop just before turning into Saxa's hallway. She can hear ragged breaths and low murmurs. 

Saxa eyes the staircase, and realizes the light of her flashlight is shining down the hallway. Whoever is just out of sight knows she's here.

She makes a run for the staircase, her feet banging against the old wood. There are footsteps behind her getting louder and louder the faster she runs. She drops her flashlight halfway down, turns to grab it on instinct and stops when she sees what it lights up.

There's something following her, large and covered in a black cloak. The thing is crawling on all fours towards the light of Saxa's flashlight. She inhales sharply, a scream stuck at the back of her throat as the thing crawls closer to the light. It's vaguely human shaped, joints popping in awkward angles. There's a sound like crunching glass beneath boots as the thing moves closer. The thing turns to her, skin stretched tight over gaping holes where the eyes and mouth should be.

"You're not alone," it says, smiles.

Saxa screams, and runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my head, this is set in the same verse as [this fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/971241).


	3. Agron, Castus, and Nasir

Agron takes Duro's lantern when they get halfway up the stairs. He and Nasir lead the way up to the second floor, the wide ceiling letting enough light flow up from the first floor so there's a yellow glow around the stairs. With the electric lanterns and Chadara's flashlight, it's enough for them to see well up to the second floor. Agron is holding Nasir's hand, though he doesn't know what good it will do if the wood gives under their feet. There are too many of them on the old stairs, too much weight, and Agron hopes they don't die before they even get a chance to fuck around with Saxa.

"We should have stayed home," Agron says, as he and Nasir step onto the second floor hallway. "We could be on our couch watching dumb movies."

"You wanted to come," Nasir says, amused. "You said we _had_ to come."

"Castus wanted to come too," Agron says.

"I didn't say anything," Castus reminds them. 

"Will you hurry up and move?" Chadara calls from behind them. "We don't have time for you three fighting right now."

"We're not fighting," Agron, Nasir, and Castus say together.

"Oh my god," Mira says. "I don't know if I want to punch them or hug them."

"Punch them," Duro says, nodding and stepping around Agron.

"You're all just jealous," Agron tells them.

He moves further away from the staircase and looks around. They're on the second floor landing, a hallway splitting into two at a right angle to their right, and another short hallway leading to a sitting room on their left. There are paintings of fruits and landscapes lining the walls and little wooden tables collecting dust.

"Lets go that way ," Duro says, pointing at the leftmost hallway on their right. "It's where I'd go if I were Saxa."

It's the darker of the two hallways, and Agron knows it's probably where Saxa went.

"What about Gannicus?" he asks. "We're supposed to be looking for him too."

"He's probably with her," Mira says.

Agron looks at the dark hallway then at Duro, who shakes his head just a bit. Agron rolls his eyes and nods towards the hallway. 

"No," Duro says aloud. "You go first."

"Fine," Agron says.

Chadara laughs behind him.

"I'll go with you," Castus says, striding forward.

Agron follows next to him, their hands brushing as they walk. The others follow, their collective footsteps making the floorboards creak. The light from their lanterns is enough to light up a few feet in front of them, but there are enough of them that Agron isn't even a bit apprehensive.

"We're brave as fuck," Agron tells Castus, as they pass the first closed doors on either side. "I mean, if there's a serial killer in here, we'd die first."

"It would be for a good cause," Chadara says. "It'd give me time to run away."

"Age before beauty," Duro agree.

"Wow," Agron says, "How long have you been waiting to use that one, Duro?"

"Fuck you, and keep walking," is the answer.

They take their time down the hallway, trying the doors. None of them give.

"Aren't they supposed to be remodeling this place?" Nasir asks, after they try the fifth door. "Why aren't any of the rooms open?"

He moves up so that he's standing by Agron's other side. Nasir's hair is starting to come loose from the rubber band he tied it back with. The strands fall over the side of his face, the light from their lanterns throwing shadows across Nasir's face. Agron knows he's smiling even as he takes Nasir's hand and pulls him along. Castus moves into Agron's space comfortably, and tucks a hand into the back pocket of Agron's jeans. 

They keep going, quiet except for the occasional curse as one of them trips over something.

"I hate old houses," Duro says. "We can't see shit."

"You hate dark houses then. Not old houses," Mira tells him.

Duro says something, and Chadara laughs. Someone asks a question, and Agron tries to pay attention as they come to the end of the hallway, but he's distracted by Castus.

"We are not going to make out in an empty mansion," Agron says when Castus's hand starts slipping just under Agron's t-shirt.

"No, no you are not," Duro calls out from behind them. "You are not making out where I can potentially see you. You are never going to even _think_ about making out when I'm near you."

"Shut up," Chadara answers. "You know you secretly like it, and the only reason you don't want them to do it is because it's a little weird for you to be thinking about your brother like that."

Mira snorts from somewhere to Agron's right. 

"I don't," Duro starts.

"Castus is hot," Chadara says, and Castus turns around to grin at her.

"Yes," Duro agrees. "But—"

"And Nasir is hot."

"Yes, but—"

"Then your problem isn't them making out. It's them making out with your brother. But it's okay, Agron's hot too so I get where the angst is coming from."

"Please stop," Duro says, glaring at Agron when he turns to wink at him. "It's not even remotely like that. He's my _brother_. I don't need to know about his sex life."

"He's the _older_ brother," Chadara says, and Agron is starting to think he should spend more time with her. "He should be the one running away from _your_ sex life. You should be glad he's busy so you can go off and explore."

Duro frowns as he considers Chadara, and Agron turns to look at her properly too. She's about a head and a half shorter than Agron is, and she seems almost harmless, except for her eyes. Chadara, Agron decides, has conniving eyes that look gray in the yellow light of the lanterns. He doesn't doubt that she's capable of being mean when she wants to be what with the way she holds her head up and refuses to let Duro look down at her. 

"You have a point," Duro says, throwing an arm around Chadara's shoulders. "I should rub my sex life in Agron's face a bit more."

Agron does not need Duro to come anywhere near him with his sex life, especially not when his brother is boning a Politics professor. 

"You have a sex life?" Chadara asks, tilting her head to the side and raising an eyebrow at Duro.

"You're my new favorite person," Agron informs Chadara, even as everyone laughs.

She turns her eyes on Agron, narrows them when Agron grins at her. "You three," she says, pointing at them. "Are _not_ going to be making out until we get out of here, so stop it."

Agron had almost forgotten what started the whole conversation, but now he remembers Castus and the way his cool fingers feel against Agron's skin. 

"No making out until we find Saxa," Agron says, grinning at Castus. "So lets hurry up and find Saxa."

"You know," Nasir says, stepping in between Agron and Castus and hooking his arms through theirs. "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you two."

Agron bends down to kiss the side of Nasir's face at the same time Castus does. They look up, grin, and high five each other.

"Help," Chadara says. "I'm going to puke."

"They are adorable," Mira agrees.

Agron very carefully raises his middle finger at them.

Duro is laughing, but he's also shoving at Agron's back so they keep moving. They get to the end of the hallway, and stop in front of a wooden door. It's twice as wide as the main entrance, with a brass handle instead of a knob. 

"Saxa," Agron calls, banging on the door. 

He swears he can see a beam of light coming from under the door, but there's no answer. 

"Gannicus," he tries again. "Stop being assholes and open the door."

"You open it," Chadara says. 

Agron frowns, but does what she tells him. The door is heavy, and the hinges creak when he pulls at the handle. It opens slowly, scraping against the floor. Chadara aims her flashlight in the direction of the room, but the beam does little to illuminate the space inside. 

"Saxa?" Duro calls.

There are a series of thuds, almost like heavy footsteps on a carpeted floor. Agron waits as the sound gets closer, and it isn't until Mira bumps into him that he realizes the sound is coming from behind them. Castus moves first, easing Chadara and Mira behind him. Agron reacts a second later even as Mira moves to push Chadara further behind her. He steps in front of Duro, the lantern Castus is holding lighting a few feet in front of them.

The sounds get closer, but no one comes down the hall.

"What the fuck?" Duro whispers, looking around Agron's side. 

"It's probably just the house," Nasir tells them. "Old houses make noises. Or it's the others walking around downstairs."

Agron nods, his eyes still focused on the spot where the footsteps stopped. He moves back instinctively, and walks into Duro. His brother's hand is reassuring on Agron's arm. As long as Duro is all right, Agron doesn't have to worry. He knows Castus and Nasir can take care of themselves, and Agron would probably run out of the mansion before Mira even blinked so he's not worried about her either. Agron can't say much about Chadara, but Castus and Mira both seem protective of her, so she's covered. It's always just Duro, because no matter how old Duro is, and no matter the things he does with professors in his free time, he'll always be Agron's brother. There's an automatic reflex that kicks in without Agron even noticing, and he's shifting to cover Duro from view even though there's nothing in the hallway.

"Chadara," Mira says, interrupting Agron's thoughts, "What are you doing?"

Agron turns around, and sees Chadara move away from their band of light towards the open door.

"Come on," she says. "Lets go find Saxa."

Agron throws one more quick look at the hallway, and then shoves Duro towards the open door. He's right behind Chadara, Castus and Nasir waiting at the back for Mira and Duro to step through. The room is wide, high-ceilinged, and with two large boarded windows. There's a fireplace in between the two windows, with either a thick layer of dust or ashes in it. The limited light throws misshapen shadows along the floor and up the walls. Agron shifts so that he is almost back to back with Duro.

"Are they in there?" Nasir calls from outside.

Agron had forgotten about Saxa and Gannicus, but even as he looks around, he knows they're not here. 

"No," Chadara answers Nasir. "But come in."

"No, don't come in," Mira says, stepping out of the room. "We have to go find Saxa and Gannicus."

Chadara rolls her eyes at Agron and Duro, but follows after Mira.

"This is insane," Duro tells Agron. "You did hear the noise, right? I'm not just going crazy. Those _were_ actually footsteps?"

Agron shakes his head. "No," he says. "It was just the house."

"Don't give me that bullshit," Duro whispers angrily. "You know there's something off about this place."

"This isn't a scary movie, Duro," Agron says, even though he still has his back against Duro's. "There's nothing here."

Duro says nothing, and Agron can tells he's trying to convince himself that Agron is right. Agron _is right_ because haunted houses are irrational. Things like ghosts and disappearing people are part of a world Agron doesn't belong to. The unexplainable has a scientific explanation these days, and if it doesn't it's just because science has not advanced that far. Sometimes it's just better to ignore instincts. 

"Lets go," Agron says, moving away from Duro and towards the door.

He feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up the minute his back is exposed, but he keeps going. His steps are too loud on the wooden floor, fast, as the overwhelming feeling of being watched washes over Agron. He exhales in relief when he steps through the door. 

The air leaves his lungs in a sudden whoosh when he sees where he came out. He is standing in the front yard of the house on the side closest to where they came in. Agron turns. The house is behind him, door closed, and without lights. The yard is empty, the streetlights off, and the lantern Agron had is gone.

"What the fuck?" he whisper, his entire body ready to attack or run away,

In the distance, towards the edge of trees behind the house, he can see a beam of a light. The person comes closer, and for a second Agron thinks of running away. He doesn't move though, thinking it could be one of the others. The person gets closer and Agron can see that it's Saxa. She staggers over, a bruise blooming on the left side of her face. 

"Saxa, what happened?" he asks her.

But she keeps going, straight at him. Agron makes to move out of her way and catches sight of her eyes, pupils blown unnaturally wide. 

"What…" Agron begins, reaching out a hand to stop her.

His hand goes right through her. 

"Oh, fuck no," Agron says. "This is not happening."

He eases away from Saxa. His hands are shaking, but Agron just concentrates on breathing, in, out, in again. He walks backwards towards the house, his thoughts on Duro and the others. The grass underfoot is wet. Agron doesn't remember rain, and the water feels too thick under his shoes to be just water.

He doesn't look down as he makes his way up the porch steps. His heart is beating an ugly rhythm in his chest, his hands clumsy when he pulls at the door. The thing gives way under his hands, and creaks open. The noise is too loud in the absence of daylight, and Agron swears he can hear footsteps coming closer. He gives up on pulling the door open all the way and squeezes into through the opening he made.

It's pitch black inside and Agron makes his way forward carefully. His steps are cautious, and he doesn't call out, some part of him afraid of what could hear him. The floor beneath Agron's feet is thick, like wet mud, and Agron's heart is already beating louder. His breaths turn into soft gasps the further Agron walks. 

He can make out a figure holding a light in the distance. He keeps going, something making him move though he does not want to. The figure comes closer, staggering as it makes it's way towards Agron. 

Saxa is still holding her flashlight, but the bruises on her face extend down her neck and up the arm holding the light. She blinks when Agron gets close, her eyes focusing on him. She's shaking, her entire body moving with the force of it. Agron doesn't need to turn around to know that the house is behind him, door closed, lights off.

Saxa moves forward, her eyes frantic. "Run," she says.

And Agron does.

-

Castus doesn't know where he is or how he got here. He remembers walking behind Agron and Nasir as they went after Saxa. Then he turned around to make sure Chadara was all right, and when when he turned back around, Agron and Nasir were gone.

He thinks he should be more frightened, but the darkness takes that away from him. As long as he can't see or hear a thing, Castus can pretend this is all a bad dream. He hasn't moved from the spot he's in since he got here. The lantern he carried is gone, and he can't find his phone even though he knows he had it with him.

There's a small part of Castus that is telling him not to move just in case he finds that he can't. Terror freezes his muscles, and ignorance is bliss as Castus closes his eyes against the oppressing darkness. He is thankful for the absence of sound, though he does not know what he will do if he hears anything. Enough time has passed that Castus's eyes should have adjusted to the dark. He sees nothing, the void around him filling easily with images of things Castus doesn't believe in. He has no way of knowing what's in the dark, and it's better to keep quiet, to stay still against the wall. To not move. 

Castus's heart thumps against his chest, and even that sound is too loud. He swears he can hear something slithering across the floor. He can almost feel the heat of something by his head, something else near his feet. Castus tries to move, and he can't.

There's a crash to his left that startles a sound out of him.

The immediate silence that follows is deafening, and Castus struggles harder against invisible bonds. He's shaking, his thoughts racing in his head. There's someone coming, their footsteps interrupting the silence that was threatening to drown Castus. He stills against the wall.

The footsteps get closer, louder and louder until they stop. Whatever it is, it's in front of Castus, and he's barely breathing, his eyes working frantically to see through the darkness. There's a click of a switch, and then the room is flooded with blinding light.

-

"Where's Agron?" Nasir asks when Duro comes out of the room.

Duro frowns. "What do you mean where is he? He's out here."

"No he isn't," Nasir says. "Stop fucking around, Duro."

"I'm not," Duro says, his voice barely a hoarse whisper. 

Nasir rolls his eyes, making his way to the open door. He can't see the light from Agron's lantern, and he wishes he were surprised. But Agron has a tendency to let Duro talk him into less than intelligent pranks. Not that Nasir blames him. He'd do the same for his brother. 

"You shouldn't turn off the lights," Nasir calls out. "What if you step on something?"

There's a thump from inside the room, and Nasir shakes his head as he walks forward. He takes one step before Duro reaches out to stop him. 

"Don't," Duro says. 

Nasir turns around ready to tell Duro to back off, but stops when he sees the expression on Duro's face. 

"I swear Agron walked out before me," Duro whispers. "I swear to god, Nasir. That's not him in there."

Nasir can see the horror on Duro's face, and that's what convinces him. He steps away from the door, his footsteps too loud in the hallway. He bumps into Duro, who grabs at Nasir's bicep and pulls him further away.

"What the fuck?" Mira whispers.

Nasir jumps at the sound of her voice, his eyes fixed on the open door in front of him. He swears he can see someone moving just out of sight, vague outlines and shadows that make no sense in the dark room. 

"Castus," Chadara says, her voice echoing around them. 

Nasir feels her walks into him and Duro. He turns at the strangled sound of her voice. She and Mira ease backwards and away from Castus until the four of them are huddled back to back. Nasir turns around, and catches sight of Castus over Chadara's head. 

Castus is standing in the middle of the hallway, eyes wide and staring ahead. He's stock still, hands at his side.

"Castus?" Nasir asks. 

Castus moves his head slowly until he's staring down at the floor. He takes a step forward, his shoes clicking against the wood. Chadara flinches, takes a step back and walks into Nasir. 

"We can't go into that room," Duro says, stepping forward.

Castus stops walking, and Duro hesitates, his hand out to either touch Castus or keep him away. There's something off about the way Castus is standing, his body too rigid to be natural. His breathing is deliberate, as though he's keeping count. 

"Where the fuck is Agron?" Duro asks, moving backwards again.

Nasir doesn't blame him. There's something in the air around them, something thick and heavy that's making it hard to piece thoughts together. Nasir needs to find Agron, but he can't remember why. He looks at Castus who raises his head slowly. There's the sound of cracking knuckles, as though each independent vertebra in Castus's neck is popping.

The four of them huddle close together, some unknown instinct telling them to take a step backwards. Even Duro goes with them, his eyes fixed on Castus. Nasir can't look away either. His entire body is screaming at him to move back, to get away, but he can't process why. 

Then Castus looks up, and it's not him. The thing in front of them looks up with wide unseeing eyes, and a grin that stretches from one ear to the other. The wide gaping hole a mockery of the usual grin on Castus's face. Nasir gasps as the thing comes forward, it's hand outstretched, mouth open wide. The thing's movements are jerky, it's head leaning to one side as though it can't it up. It stumbles as it moves forward.

It takes another step forward, and this time Nasir takes one back. Chadara goes with him, her gasps of breath on the back of Nasir's neck making him shiver. The thing opens its mouth wider, the sound of ripping flesh too close. Nasir takes a step backwards and realizes that they've stepped into the room behind them. The last thing he sees is the thing outside running towards the door, it's limbs flailing, head bobbing to the side, and then the door slams shut.

**Author's Note:**

> The chapters for this are going to be a bit weird in terms of length, but it's better to have 9 chapters of different length than to combine chapters. Trust me. Also, I don't want to give things away by warning for things that will come in later chapters, but pay attention to the warnings because they'll change as each new chapter goes up. 
> 
> Also, the fact that I have exactly 13 characters was such a great thing, you guys don't even know.


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